‘Seoul offered maintenance support for US arms deployed here’

The South Korean government suggested offering maintenance support for US strategic military assets, seeking to have more deployed here, a government source said Sunday.  The USS Ronald Reagan leaves the South Korean port of Busan. (Yonhap)“In regards to the expansion of the rotational deployment of US strategic assets, which is currently in talks to effectively counter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, the government has expressed the intention to the US to provide maintenance service

Oct. 29, 2017

After defense chiefs' talks, timing of OPCON transfer draws fresh attention

The timing of South Korea's resumption of wartime operational control from the United States has gained fresh attention due to a subtle change in the wording of their annual defense ministers' joint statement released Saturday.At the close of the Security Consultative Meeting, Defense Minister Song Young-moo and his US counterpart James Mattis issued a statement that affirmed their leaders' decision in June to enable an "expeditious" OPCON transfer. This photo, taken Oct. 28, 2017, shows South K

Oct. 29, 2017

Nuclear North Korea never be tolerated: allies defense chiefs

South Korea and the United States’ defense chiefs on Saturday pledged they would never tolerate a nuclear-armed North Korea, warning that any provocations would be met with “massive and overwhelming” retaliation. 　During their annual Security Consultative Meeting in Seoul, Defense Minister Song Young-moo and his US counterpart Jim Mattis reiterated their commitment to a diplomatic approach to the North, but stressed military options were on the table and they will carry weight in finding a diplo

Oct. 28, 2017

Allies agree to deal sternly with N. Korea‘s provocation

The armed forces of South Korea and the US agreed Friday to deal resolutely with North Korea‘s additional provocations on the basis of their “ironclad” alliance.In their Military Committee Meeting in Seoul, Gen. Jeong Kyeong-doo, chairman of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his American counterpart Gen. Joseph Dunford agreed to “continuously develop effective response measures in order to deter, and if necessary, firmly respond to additional provocation,” according to their joint press s

Oct. 27, 2017

Our goal is not war: allies' defense chiefs

The South Korean and US defense chiefs on Friday expressed their commitment to a diplomatic solution to resolving the nuclear standoff with North Korea, saying their goal is to achieve the complete nuclear disarmament of the North, not to pursue another war on the Korean Peninsula. During their visit to the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas, Defense Minister Song Young-moo and his US counterpart James Mattis urged North Korea to suspend reckless provocations and immediately return t

Oct. 27, 2017

Cheong Wa Dae denies considering apology to China over THAAD deployment

South Korea is not considering expressing regrets over the deployment of a US missile defense system here as part of efforts to mend its ties with China, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Friday, dismissing reports that also suggested Beijing has made such a request."China has not made any request regarding our expression of regret as a precondition to holding a South Korea-China summit," a Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters while asking not to be identified."Because the government h

Oct. 27, 2017

Moon to meet US defense chief over N. Korea, summit with Trump

South Korean President Moon Jae-in was scheduled to meet US Defense Secretary James Mattis on Friday, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.The meeting will be held later in the day at Cheong Wa Dae. Mattis arrived here earlier in the day for an annual defense dialogue between the allies, called the Security Consultative Meeting that will be held Saturday.The meeting between Moon and Mattis was largely expected to focus on the upcoming Korea-US summit, slated to be held here in Seoul on Nov

Oct. 27, 2017

Pentagon says aircraft carriers' deployment 'assures allies'

WASHINGTON -- The United States' deployment of three aircraft carriers to the western Pacific provides South Korea with assurance against the threat of North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, the Pentagon said Thursday.This week the USS Nimitz and USS Theodore Roosevelt joined the USS Ronald Reagan, which is homeported in Japan, in the western Pacific Ocean as part of what the US Navy said were routine operations. USS Ronald Reagan (Yonhap)The deployment came amid heightened tensions over No

Oct. 27, 2017

NATO chief to visit S. Korea to discuss NK, security issues

The chief of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will visit South Korea next week to discuss a wide range of issues, including North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats, the foreign ministry said Friday.During his three-day trip starting Wednesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will make a courtesy call to President Moon Jae-in and meet with Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha. He is to visit the Demilitarized Zone, which separates South and North Korea, the ministry said. He wi

Oct. 27, 2017

Pentagon chief to visit DMZ, warn N. Korea

The top military officials of South Korea and the US will visit the Demilitarized Zone together this week and issue a warning message to North Korea, an official said Thursday.Defense Minister Song Young-moo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis plan to tour the Joint Security Area, where South and North Korean forces stand face-to-face, on Friday.  South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo (R) and his American counterpart James Mattis shake hands during their talks at the Pentagon on Aug. 30

Oct. 26, 2017

US military strike won't destroy all N. Korean nuclear capabilities: US expert

WASHINGTON -- A preventive military strike by the United States would not remove all of North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, a renowned American expert on the North Korean issue has said, while proposing economic sanctions as the most viable tool to end North Korea's nuclear weapons program."A preventive military strike would not destroy all of North Korea's capabilities. It would risk a wider war that would inflame South Korea and Japan and potentially cause millions of cas

Oct. 25, 2017

Korea, China hold 1st defense ministers' talks in two years

CLARK, Philippines  -- The defense chiefs of South Korea and China on Tuesday held their first bilateral talks in nearly in two years, taking a meaningful step toward warming relations chilled by a standoff over the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system on the peninsula.South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo met with his Chinese counterpart Chang Wanquan for about half an hour in Clark, the Philippines, on the margin of a regional security forum, a South Korean government official

Oct. 24, 2017

Trump aware of LKP‘s call for redeployment of tactical nukes: party official

US President Donald Trump has been briefed on a South Korean party's calls for the redeployment of tactical nuclear arms to the Korean Peninsula to counter growing North Korean threats, a party official said.Khang Hyo-shang, the spokesman of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, said in Washington on Monday (local time) that the Central Intelligence Agency kept Trump informed of the public sentiment in Korea about the redeployment.Khang was accompanying party chief Hong Joon-pyo and other law

Oct. 24, 2017

South Korea, US, Japan kick off missile warning drill

　South Korea, the United States and Japan on Tuesday began a two-day missile warning drill to better detect and track incoming missiles in the event of a possible North Korean attack. 　According to Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the joint military exercise took place in waters off the coasts of South Korea and Japan. Included in the drill were the Aegis destroyer Yulgok Yii of South Korea, the USS Stethem and USS Decatur Aegis destroyers from the US, and a JDS Kirishima destroyer from Japan.　The

Oct. 24, 2017

In combat uniforms, allies' defense chiefs to press N. Korea

CLARK, Philippines -- South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo said Monday he and US Secretary of Defense James Mattis plan to use military uniforms for a joint warning message to North Korea this week, when they meet in South Korea for bilateral annual talks.Song proposed that Mattis wear a Marine Corps combat uniform, instead of a suit, in meeting with the allies' troops on the peninsula together. The Pentagon chief is a retired Marine Corps general.Song, a former Navy admiral and chief of

Oct. 24, 2017

Korea-US alliance is 'linchpin' of regional security: defense chiefs

WASHINGTON -- The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States reaffirmed Monday that their alliance is the "linchpin" of regional peace and security.The acknowledgment from South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo and US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis comes as tensions have heightened over North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.The two met on the sidelines of a regional defense ministerial meeting in the Philippines earlier in the day. This photo, provided by South Korea`

Oct. 24, 2017

Trump likely to visit major US base in Korea

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump is likely to visit American troops at a newly expanded US military base in South Korea next month, a senior White House official said Monday.The visit would take place during Trump's state visit to Seoul on Nov. 7-8 amid high tensions over North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs."The president is most likely going to be visiting Camp Humphreys," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity. "Camp Humphreys is a relatively new base, a

Oct. 24, 2017

Korean defense chief to focus on N. Korea in ASEAN security forum

CLARK, Philippines -- South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo prepared Monday for a round of bilateral and multilateral diplomacy in Clark, the Philippines, on North Korea and other regional security issues.He's visiting the Clark Freeport Zone, northwest of Manila, to attend the 4th ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus.The Philippines, the chair of ASEAN meetings this year, is hosting the 11th ADMM and the expanded ADMM-Plus session that also includes eight dialogue partners: South Korea,

Oct. 23, 2017

Korean defense chief in Philippines for ASEAN meeting

CLARK, the Philippines -- South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo arrived in the Philippines on Monday to join a high-level regional security forum.North Korea will be among the agenda items at the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus in Clark, Pampanga, about two hours north of Manila.The two-day session to open later in the day brings together defense chiefs of Southeast Asian nations and their eight dialogue partners: South Korea, the United States, China, Japan, Russia, Australia, Indi

Oct. 23, 2017

USFK officially completes THAAD battery unit setup in Korea

The US Forces Korea said Sunday it has officially set up the unit charged with operating the advanced missile defense system deployed in the country.A ceremony was held in the southeastern county of Seongju on Thursday to transfer the Delta Battery of the 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade in Fort Bliss, Texas, to the 35th ADA Brigade in South Korea, official sources said.The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery, which has missile launchers, command and control facilities and a powerful r

Oct. 22, 2017